Original source : http://www.therakyatpost.com
Posted : August 2014
Author : the admin
India’s
civil aviation regulator said on Thursday it has ordered Jet Airways to suspend
two pilots after a flight to Brussels
dived 5,000 feet, forcing air traffic controllers to issue an emergency
warning. The Times of India said the captain was on a scheduled rest
break when the plane dropped almost 5,000 feet over Turkey, putting it at an altitude
assigned to another aircraft. Air traffic controllers in Ankara had to issue an emergency warning to
the co-pilot on duty, who the paper said “did not notice that the aircraft had
lost altitude” because she was using her tablet computer at the time.
The Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it had
summoned the captain and co-pilot for questioning over what it called a
“serious incident” during the flight from Mumbai to Brussels last Friday. “Both
the pilots have been taken off the roster pending inquiry,” said the regulator
in a statement. “Additionally, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has
been asked to conduct a detailed investigation into the incident.” The airline
said it had launched its own investigation. “Safety is of paramount importance
to Jet Airways, as is also the welfare of our guests and crew,” it said in a
statement.
Jet Airways, in which Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has a
24% stake, is India’s
second-biggest carrier. India’s
air passenger market has expanded at breakneck speed, but many companies are
laden with debt due to cut-throat fare wars, high fuel costs and shoddy
infrastructure. In 2011, the airline sector was shaken by a scandal over a
number of unqualified Indian pilots flying on fake licences. And in January the
US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stripped the country of its top safety
rating, citing a lack of safety oversight. It downgraded India’s aviation safety rating to category two
from category one, putting it in the company of such countries as Zimbabwe, Bangladesh
and Indonesia.
~Blog Admin~
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